Overseeing the plant’s evolution, adapting to unpredictable weather conditions and choosing the precise moment and day for each action are keys to a successful harvest. These factors rely on the well-informed decisions made continually by growers and scutchers. Their collaboration is vital to optimize each harvest. This know-how and complicity is typified by the men (and women) involved at all stages of transformation from plant to fiber.

Linen at the forefront of innovation

After centuries of handcrafted traditions which included home workshops and handweaving, the linen industry took a decisive step in the early 19th century when the spinning machine, developed by Philippe de Girard in 1810, brought linen into the modern era.